Community Planning & Economic Development

Downtown Minneapolis Park Space Initiative

Downtown Minneapolis is a vibrant and growing community as well as a regional economic center. It is home to numerous cultural amenities and 30,000 downtown neighbors. An additional 160,000 people work downtown, and 75,000 people visit the city center on an average weekday. This activity brings downtown Minneapolis over 265,000 pedestrians daily.

Because greening Downtown has been voiced as a priority by residents and businesses alike, the City applied for and received a grant from the McKnight Foundation to study how Downtown park and open spaces can better succeed and be financially viable. The City worked with a variety of consultants that offered expertise in how Downtown parks are used here and throughout the country, what design and utility makes for a premier green space, what models exist for ownership and management, and how park space is funded. The resulting reports offer a wealth of information about Downtown’s existing open space network as well as the benefits and challenges of creating additional greenspace.

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